| Medal record | ||
Naoto Tajima, Jesse Owens, Luz Long |
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| Men's athletics | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Germany | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Silver | 1936 Berlin | Long jump |
| Pierre de Coubertin medal | Posthumous | |
Carl Ludwig "Lu(t)z" Long (27 April 1913[1] in Leipzig – 13 July 1943 in San Pietro Clarenza) was a German Olympic athlete, notable for winning Silver at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin and for giving advice to his competitor, Jesse Owens, who went on to win the gold medal for the broad jump (now referred to as the long jump) as a result of Long's advice.[2]
Long was killed in action serving in the German army during World War II. For his actions in the spirit of sportsmanship, he was posthumously awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal.
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Long studied law at the University of Leipzig, where in 1926 he joined the Leipziger Sport Club.[3][4][5] After graduating, he practiced as a lawyer in Hamburg, while continuing his interest in sport.[6]
The 23 year old, 1.84m tall blond Long had finished third in the 1934 European Championships in Athletics with 7.25m. By the summer of 1936, Long held the European record in the long jump and was eager to compete for the first time against Jesse Owens, the American world-record holder. The long jump on August 4 was Long's first event against Owens, and Long met his expectations by setting an Olympic record during the preliminary round. In contrast, Owens fouled on his first two jumps. Knowing that he needed to reach at least 7.15m (about 23 feet 3 inches) on his third jump in order to advance to the finals in the afternoon, Owens sat on the field, dejected.
Speaking to Long's son, Owens said in 1964 that Long went to him and told him to try and jump from a spot several inches behind the take-off board. Since Owens routinely made distances far greater than the minimum of 7.15m required to advance, Long surmised that Owens would be able to safely advance to the next round without risking a foul trying to push for a greater distance. On his third qualifying jump, Owens was calm and jumped with at least four inches (10 centimeters) to spare, easily qualifying for the finals. In the finals competition later that day, the jumpers exceeded the old Olympic record five times.[7] Owens went on to win the gold medal in the long jump with 8.06m while besting Long's own record of 7.87m. Long won the silver medal for second place and was the first to congratulate Owens: they posed together for photos and walked arm-in-arm to the dressing room. Owens said, "It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler... You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn't be a plating on the twenty-four karat friendship that I felt for Luz Long at that moment".[2] Long's competition with Owens is recorded in Leni Riefenstahl's documentary Olympia - Fest der Völker.[8]
Two days later, Long finished 10th in the triple jump. He went on to finish third in the 1938 European Championships in Athletics with 7.56m.
The story of Long's advice to Owens has been challenged by Olympic historian Tom Ecker, who had studied the footage of the games. He stated that in 1965, after researching the evidence, he had confronted Owens, who admitted he had made up the story to please Long's son and that he had not met Long until the competition was over, when they quickly became friends. In his last letter to Owens before his death Long had asked him to speak to his son, writing, "Someday find my son ... tell him about how things can be between men on this Earth." [9]
Long served in the German army during World War II, having the rank of Obergefreiter. During the Allied invasion of Sicily, Long was severely wounded on 10 July 1943. He was taken into captivity and died in a British-controlled military hospital three days later on July 13. He was buried in the war cemetery of Motta Sant'Anastasia, in Sicily.
Roads near sports facilities in his home town Leipzig,[10] and in the Munich Olympia Park[4] of 1972 are named after him. His medal, photos, and documents were donated[11] to the Sportmuseum Leipzig.[12]
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